Special tips, inspirational thoughts, and useful resources from a School Psychologist

Tag Archives: Parent involvement

This week is National Teacher Appreciation Week and I want to recognize those who have one of the most important jobs in the world. In my opinion, it’s 2nd in importance to parenting. If you are a teacher, thank you! Thank you for the time you invest to make sure your students learn. Thank you for making sure the distracted student doesn’t sit next to the talker. Thank you for the extra hours you spend making sure your lessons are prepared and your students will be engaged. Thank you for spending money you probably can’t afford to buy supplies your students need or classroom materials to make your lessons interesting. Thank you for teaching the students with special needs and the ones who challenge you every day. They need to know you care and that you believe in them. Thank you for all you do!
If you are a parent, guardian, or student yourself, make sure to let teachers know you appreciate them. Not only this week but every opportunity you get.
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

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I’ve seen this idea posted on social media sites as the new year approached and I really like it! If you’re not familiar with it, the idea is to have a jar at home and when you have a good memory, you jot it down on a note and drop it in the jar. Then, at the end of the year as you are bringing in the new year, you read all the notes in the jar to reflect on the memories your family created. When I saw this, I thought it was a porject worthy of trying, but then I thought about how parents could use a variation of this idea for their children, especially if they are struggling learners.

Starting back to school can be stressful for many students and parents–especially when it involves transitioning from elementary to middle school. The anxiety can be multiplied when a student has special needs. Here are 5 tips to help ease the stress and prepare for a successful transition and start of the school year:

As parents, we often have more anxiety about our child’s transition to a new level than our child does. This is normal! However, be careful not to allow your child to assimilate your concerns. Many children tend to gauge their interpretation of events based on their parents’ reactions. Simply put, if Johnny sees mom scared about him starting middle school, then, to him, middle school must be a scary place. Talk to your child about his or her concerns about middle school and try to address them. If you don’t have the answers, contact your child’s principal or special education teacher/case manager.

Obtain your child’s new schedule as soon as it is available (usually at registration time). Request from the principal or special education teacher/case manager that your child walk through his or her schedule a couple of times before school starts. This will help familiarize your child with the layout of the school and the order of his or her classes, which can help ease some fears.

If your child will be using a locker and has fine motor issues, request that he or she use a padlock instead of a combination lock. Another option is a store-bought lock that uses letters for a combination straight in a line, which might be easier for some students and won’t require him or her to carry a key around.

Communicate! Send your child’s team of teachers a brief email before school starts to introduce yourself and your child with a few highlights of his or her strengths and needs. Teachers really appreciate this and it allows opportunity for questions about concerns or questions they might have. Keep in mind, though, that teachers have a few days of in-service and meetings before school starts so don’t expect a rapid reply. Continue communicating with them throughout the year as needed, especially if you have concerns. Celebrations and words of appreciation are always wecomed, as well!

Relax! This can be the hardest thing to do as a parent when your child is transitioning from elementary to middle school. However, in my experience as I have seen students transition from each level to the next, that they all make it! Sure, there can be some bumps along the way–just like life–but your child’s team is there because they care about kids and want them to be successful. Be prepared…. the first 2 weeks can be the bumpiest as students are trying to adjust. But, guess what? The voyage may be different for each student but they are all in the same boat. I was nervous, too, as my own kids transitioned to middle school and I had different concerns for each of them. But, what I discovered was that they found their groove just like every other new middle schooler and they survived. Yours will, too. I promise!

Here’s wishing you and your child a successful start to a new school year! If you have specific questions that I haven’t addressed here, please feel free to ask!

Parents of students with disabilities often wonder what their role is in the IEP meeting. Here are some tips for what you can do before, during, and after an IEP meeting to ensure you have the best, most meaningful involvement.

Before the Meeting

Build a positive relationship with at least one IEP team member. Ideally, this should be your child’s special education teacher or case manager, as they are or will be your contact person while your child receives special education services. If your child is being placed in special education for the first time, however, you might not know the special education teacher very well yet. Often, the school psychologist is the person who facilitates the evaluation process so he or she may be the person with whom you have the most contact, initially.

Think about your questions and put your thoughts on paper. Sometimes, it is hard to think of questions during the IEP meeting. Many parents have found it helpful to think about questions beforehand and to write them down. Bring them with you to the IEP meeting to refer to as the meeting progresses. You might find that some of your questions will be answered as information is shared with you, but feel free to ask questions throughout the IEP meeting as they come up.

Gather copies of reports. If your child has been evaluated by an outside agency or a physician and you believe the information is relevant to the IEP meeting, make a copy to bring with you. Better yet, feel free to provide a copy to the case manager, school psychologist, or process facilitator before the meeting. Often, it is helpful to the team to review the information beforehand. Additionally, fee free to request a draft of the evaluation report and/or IEP before the meeting. Parents find this very helpful to review the information ahead of time and helps to formulate questions to bring up at the meeting. It also helps the meeting to run more efficiently.

During the Meeting

Ask questions! As mentioned above, bring your questions and/or concerns with you. Make sure your questions are heard but also stay focused on the concerns. Sometimes, it is easy to get off topic as concerns are shared at the IEP meeting but it is important to stay focused on the purpose of the meeting. Many teams use what is called a “parking lot”, which can be a sticky note or a document that is used to jot down questions or concerns that arise during the meeting but aren’t necessarily on topic at that moment. It helps the team to stay focused on the agenda but also reminds the team to revisit them before everyone leaves.

Bring a trusted person with you. Sometimes, it is helpful to bring someone else with you to help you remember details or remember to ask questions. This can be your spouse, a friend, or anyone with whom you feel comfortable including in your child’s IEP meeting. They don’t necessarily need to do anything but listen–we all could use a second pair of ears at times.

Commit to professionalism and respect. Treat one another like the experts you are. Sometimes, there will be disagreements between you and other team members. As a parent, you are the expert on your child, but also recognize that your child’s special education teacher has an advanced degree in special education. He or she may not know your child the way you do, but he or she does know your child. Commit to listening to him or her and trust that he or she is offering good advice. In rare instances, you might have problems you cannot resolve. In this case, don’t hesitate to discuss them with the administrator about how to resolve them.

Involve your child in the IEP meeting, when appropriate. Your child will begin being invited to their IEP meetings when they turn 14 during the IEP year. However, I believe it is important for the student to be involved as early as possible. There might be times when you would prefer to have discussions with the team without your child present and that’s okay. In these cases, I would encourage you to do so and then have your child come in for a summary of his or her plan. This can occur as early as elementary and is vital in helping your child understand the process so that he or she isn’t surprised at age 14 when he or she is expected to attend.

After the Meeting

If in doubt, talk about it!Often, parents might have unanswered questions at the end of the IEP meeting, but don’t feel comfortable enough to get clarification. You need to feel good about the plan that will be in place for your child and if you need more time to feel good about it, then don’t hesitate to speak up. In fact, if you would like more time to read over the proposed IEP, you have the right to request time to look it over before you sign it.

Keep collaborating! Once your child’s IEP is written, it may be the end of an annual process but continued collaboration throughout the school year is essential to your child’s success and your peace of mind. As you learn new things about your child that are relevant to his or her success in school, share them with the team. Anecdotes are also welcomed and enjoyed!

I hope you have found these tips helpful! If you have further questions or would like more information about other topics, please don’t hesitate to send me a message. Thanks for reading and here’s to a successful IEP meeting!

I am a Sassy Southern Gal living in the Midwest. Come along on my journey and we'll share some stories and fun. You'll soon see why I am a SassySouthernGal! Disclaimer: “The content in this posting are my own personal opinions and not the opinions or policies of the National Down Syndrome Society”. !